Free Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy Page A

particularly healthy. As he entered the room, glancing at her only briefly, his expression betrayed no emotion. He looked tired and gaunt. The blood in his eyes had mostly subsided, and he’d been given a change of clothes. He sat on the couch she’d just vacated, leaning forward to rest elbows on knees. She wondered what he’d been told, whether he’d been threatened.
    She wanted Natesa to leave so she could talk to him alone.
    Natesa was conferring with the milits. Edie overheard enough to realize Natesa was asking them to organize quarters for Finn on a lower deck.
    “Finn is staying here,” Edie said, interrupting their conversation.
    Natesa turned. “Here? Is he your lover?”
    Edie felt her face warming at the bold question. Without meaning to, she looked quickly at Finn. He raised his gaze to meet hers but didn’t seem perturbed. And he left it up to her to answer.
    “The leash…we have to stick together,” Edie said evasively.
    “We’ve been over this. This ship is much smaller than the leash’s range. You’re in no danger of separation, and his services as a bodyguard are not required. We’ll find a jobfor him and he’ll reside on the workers’ deck.” Before Edie could object, Natesa added, “No arguing, Edie. It’s not possible for him to remain in VIP quarters. However, I’ll allow him to stay here for a day or two until something else can be arranged.”
    As Finn didn’t seem interested in joining the conversation, Edie spoke for him. “You said Finn could pursue his own interests. He has friends in the Reach. He’ll want to find out what happened to them.”
    Natesa arched a dubious brow. “You want me to give him access to communications?”
    “Why not?”
    “Well.” Natesa’s lips thinned. “We’d have to keep an eye on that, of course.” Hopefully Finn had a few tricks up his sleeve to get around Natesa’s monitoring. “Now, please remember our arrangement, both of you. Consider yourselves on probation.” Natesa extracted two crew keys from her pocket and dropped them on a console near the hatch. “One for each of you, with individualized access parameters. If your key doesn’t open a door, you’re not allowed to be there. The mess is on Deck E, or you may call the galley for food—I wouldn’t make a habit of that, though. The staff has quite enough to do without running around the ship answering room service calls.”
    Finally, Natesa and the milits left. Edie locked the hatch, leaning against it for a moment to get her thoughts in order. When she looked at Finn, he was watching her. He looked immeasurably calmer than she felt.
    “Are they listening in?” he asked.
    Edie hadn’t considered that. “I don’t know. It’s a possibility. But generally, the Crib is too arrogant to be paranoid.” She swallowed nervously, still unsure of what Finn thought of all this. “Are you okay?”
    Instead of answering, he said, “What’s going on?”
    She walked over to the viewport, feeling his eyes on her, and looked at Prisca. She could explain what the Crib was doing here and what her role would be, but she knewthat wasn’t what he was asking. As she thought about what Theron had done to him, her anger resurfaced. Glancing at Finn, she saw him rub the back of his neck slowly, a gesture she knew meant her emotions were firing up the chip in his skull.
    “I’m sorry about this, about everything. You felt my…panic when they were jolting you. I should’ve tried to stay calm but I couldn’t.”
    “No, I’m glad I could sense you. Made it easier.”
    “Easier?”
    “It felt like you were with me, in a way.” His dark eyes hid the horror he’d suffered. “Did they hurt you?”
    “No, they wouldn’t do that. They only hurt the things I care about.”
    He held her gaze a moment longer. Edie chewed her lip and wished she had the nerve to go to him. They’d shared one brief moment of intimacy on the Hoi ’s skiff before she’d pushed him away. And later, one kiss.